If you go all the way east of the mountains it is usually sunnier. Check the forecast.

You need one of those lights that tricks your body into thinking its sunny. It helps to fight off the S.A.D depression from not getting enough light.

Don’t believe everything you hear. Rarely do we have no sun in the winter months and all gray. There have been some winters worse than others, but the sun and the mountain do come out to play in the winter months.

A sun lamp and vitamin d might help my friend :)

There's spots on the coast. Sequim motto is 300 days of sunshine.

I bought a used 1000w metal halide grow light cheap off Craigslist because the grower switched to LEDs. Mounted it in the ceiling in my basement. Doesn’t take any special electrical wiring.

Put a couple of lawn chairs down there. I run it 1-2 hours day, usually right at sunset. It’s so bright you literally have to wear dark sunglasses. It was a real lifesaver for the emotional health of my spouse. The kids love it too, they also wear shades while they play or read. Even the neighborhood kids like to come over. It totally illuminates a 20 x 20 room. Where we are electricity is $0.074/KWH so for 15 cents a day this has been a huge boost to the family’s mental well-being.

Wenatchee, WA. Head east. Also really pretty over there with lots to do.

Sure, but you can’t get any vitamin D from it, so either supplement or head south.

California or east of the mountains (but it can be overcast there too).

I’ve found It’s not the grey in winter that gets me, it’s the grey from March through June! In winter, I get a sun recharge skiing but if you don’t do that check out snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. The best decision I made moving here is to get a really good breathable rain suit and go out with outdoor plans no matter what the weather calls for. Also, it gets sunny in Eastern WA when western WA is still gloomy and there is great hiking and I like the bike trail on old RR bed from Cle Elum up through Roslyn and Ronald.

You get more sun on the east side of the Cascades but it comes with colder temperatures. Your best bet for sun in the winter is to go to the rain shadow of the Olympics (north and northeast of the range) - places like Port Angeles, Sequim, Port Townsend, Whidbey Island.

We do actually get SOME sun here and there during winter, it's not terrible. The bigger issue than the rain is the fact that we're pretty far north so sunset is at 4pm. Definitely take vitamin D.

If you supp with Vit D, make sure you’re getting enough Magnesium also. Your body requires it to absorb the D, and destroys it in the process, so you can run out.

We exist solely on vitamin D supplements and pure spite. Jokes aside, the biggest challenge for you coming from FL (as someone who lives with an individual from Key Largo) is the sun setting very very early in the winter. Sometimes as early as 3:30-4ish. It can be very disorienting. If you want to try to escape to the mountains you’ll have to be very mindful of the conditions and forecast but it’s not a bad idea. When we get the winter blues I make a day trip to the zoo. Fresh air does you good

Good to know.

I also live in the Olympic rain shadow and some of that stuff is realtor hype. I have even seen them call it the banana belt, lol.

It’s very true they get much less rain, 16” vs 39”. But the number of sunny days is marginally higher no where close to 300 and it still gets very foggy, suffers from the short winter day light, and is cooler than Seattle.

Beautiful country, we love to motorcycling over there.

Fun fact: Vit D is a “transport” molecule for Calcium! So you need D to get Calcium to your bones. Extra important if you happen to break one. Ask me how I know. :D

Look at a good, live weather map and pick out where the clouds aren't. Usually, it's the other side of the mountains by Yakima.

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I read something that said “If your shadow is longer than you are tall, you’re not getting enough sunlight to make Vitamin D in your skin.”

I haven’t been able to confirm that or not… anyone know if that’s true?

Around here, we call Mt. Vernon the banana belt because of the weird little convergence zone of Vancouver Island. Always about 10º warmer up there it seems!

Yeah Bellingham gets hit with that cold Frazier Valley weather. When that hits brrr

You mostly need to cross the Cascades. The other half of WA is in a rain shadow. It can still get cloudy over there, though, so look for things that you like to do, reasons for you to go over there, then periodically check the weather forecasts for sunny days to go. If you're looking for warmth, though, sunny doesn't always mean warmer weather. The sun helps, but the air can still be pretty cold.

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Sequim, Washington (pronounced 'squim',) is located in the “rain shadow” and averages over 300 days a year with at least some sunshine. With the Olympic Mountains as protection, the area only gets 16 inches of annual rainfall. Another method some use, daylights: Carex-Day-Light-Classic-Plus-Bright-Light-Therapy-Lamp-10-000-LUX-Sun-Lamp-Mood-Light. Or equivalent. One can also buy full spectrum LED bulbs to replace all the lights in the house, taking vitamin D helps as well.

I live in the North Cascades. Its grey most of the winter. Seattle actually has more sun. East of the mountains may be sunny, but its cold, really cold and its snows. If you want consistent sun in winter on the west coast, it can be found in California or Arizona. That is why people leave here in the winter for places like Florida or the above mentioned. The PNW is grey, not all grey all the time, but to a person from Florida it will seem all grey through the winter.

Eastern, Washington; Idaho. As others have said, parts of the Peninsula get more sunny days than most of Western Washington. Sometimes Whidbey and San Juan Islands will have sunshine when other areas don't as well.